Magic 2D Shapes

Explicit Instruction/Teacher modeling

• Gather your string into a ball and then demonstrate turning your string into a flat circle (e.g., on a table, you could project using a document camera as able).
• Explain that this shape is called a circle, then have students repeat "circle" back to you.
• Display the circle vocabulary card to the class.
• Define the circle, explaining it is a shape that is round and doesn't have sides or corners.
• Repeat this process with a square, triangle, and rectangle.
• Have students turn and talk to a partner, sharing something they learned about ones of the shapes.

Guided Practice

• Pass out a string to each student (while they continue to sit in a group) and demonstrate turning your string into a circle one more time.
• Have students copy this process using their own strings.
• Ask students to turn and talk to share with a partner how they know it is a circle, "I know my shape is a circle because____."
• Take note of student conversations and capture their thinking using sticky notes or writing directly on chart paper.
• Refer back to the shape cards as needed.
• Repeat this same process with the triangle, rectangle, and square shapes.

Group work time

• Display the first two pages of the shape books and demonstrate how to use the materials to create the first two pages in the book.
• Pass out the first two pages of the shape book to each student for them to complete independently at their desk or table.
• As students are working, circulate around the classroom and engage students in discussion of where they see shapes in the classroom and how they know which shape is which. Continue to capture student thinking and ideas to add to your chart.